‘Terminator’ Producers Sue for Fraud

The Halcyon Company, which owns the rights to the "Terminator" franchise, filed a lawsuit in L.A. Superior Court on Monday, accusing a former Pacificor hedge fund employee of fraud and conspiracy.

In a second suit, Dominion Group, which is owned by Halcyon principals Derek Anderson and Victor Kubicek, accused Pacificor of filing a lien on Dominion’s assets in order to prevent it from securing financing for Halcyon.

Combined, the money sought is $30 million in damages from Pacificor and its employee, Kurt Benjamin.

Pacificor originally provided the financing for Halcyon’s acquisition of the rights to the "Terminator" franchise in May 2007. Following its acquisitions of the rights, Halcyon produced "Terminator: Salvation," released in May. The film has grossed $370 million worldwide, and Halcyon has been working on getting a fifth installment going.

According to the lawsuit against Benjamin, when he introduced Anderson and Kubicek to Pacificor, he presented himself as an independent contractor, but it was later determined he was an active employee of Pacificor.

The suit also claims that he never confided to Pacificor that he was being compensated by Halcyon for arranging the deal.

The complaint accuses Benjamin of:

–Forcing Halcyon to pay $500,000 plus 1.5% of the process from the "Terminator" franchise for arranging the deal…without giving details about his relationship to Pacificor.

–Getting a monthly salary from Halcyon by threatening to "kill" several of the company’s deals with Pacificor.

–Forcing Halcyon to deal exclusively with Pacificor, thus preventing it from securing other financing.

The complaint against Benjamin also alleges that Benjamin and Mitchell were offered bribes by potential buyers of the "Terminator" franchise. According to the complaint, “Benjamin, Mitchell, and Pacificor planned on taking the bribes, foreclosing on the franchise and selling it to the potential buyers.”